China slows down high-speed trains

13/08/2011

Major safety review to be conducted, with speeds cut on new high-speed lines...

China has ordered a series of safety checks on its high-speed railway network, and for services to run at slower speeds. State news agency, Xinhua reported that the decision was made at a meeting of the country’s State Council, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. The project will cover high-speed railways that are both in operation and under construction, and will focus on design and equipment quality, and operation safety. The directive also ordered services on newly-built high-speed rail lines to run at slower speeds during the early stages of their operations.

The move follows a series of failures on China’s high-speed rail network in recent months, culminating in the fatal crash of two high-speed services in Zhejiang province late last month. The incident, which killed 40 passengers, was put down to a signal failure following a lightning strike, but questions have been raised with regards to the fast-track roll-out of China’s high-speed rail network.